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05 Chapter 2
05 Chapter 2
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Most of Tendulkars plays have had their original in his own personal
experience. Silence! took shape in his mind during the journey he
undertook along with his troupe to Vile Parle, a suburb in Bombay. The
conversation among the actors and actresses gave him the much needed
impetus to write the play.
Leela Benare, the central character of the play possesses a natural lust for
life and a spontaneous joie de vivre, who ignores social norms and
dictates. Being different from the others she is easily isolated and made
the victim of a cruel game cunningly planned by her coactors. During
the course of this so-called game which is meaningfully set in the form
of a mock-trial, Miss Benares private life is exposed and publically
dissected, revealing her illicit love affair with professor Damle, a married
man with a family, which has resulted in her pregnancy. Professor Damle
is significantly absent at the trial denoting his total withdrawal of
responsibility, either social or moral, for the whole situation into which
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Vijay Tendulkar, who is known for his concern for burning social
problems of Indian society, through this play tries to explore certain
issues of contemporary society like
(1) Disillusionment in search for individuality by a woman
(2) The concept of modern woman V\s traditional woman
(3) Middle class mentality and its pettiness
(4) The degeneration of dramatic activity
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shade and no soothing cushion for a sinning woman. She must be stained
and abandoned. Her femininity, her needs, her very existence must be
ignored or rather destroyed. She must be cornered and brutally killedboth in physical and psychological senses. This play is about the pathetic
position of women in the male dominated Indian world.
Benare enters the play with her aggressive, even at times mischievously,
seductive, streak in evidence in her initial interaction with Samant the
innocent, compassionate observer in the play. As a teacher Benare is
proud of herself she says-
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In school, when the first bell rings, my foots already on the threshold. I
havent heard a single reproach for not being on time these past eight
years. Nor about my teaching. Im never behindhand with my lesson.
She is very popular among the students and so she praises them as she
does not find them hypocrites as compared to the lot of teachers.
According to her they do not have the blind pride of thinking that they
know everything. She thinks that the community of teachers are escapists.
They consider themselves intellectuals. They pride on their book
learning. But when there is a real life problem, they run away.
Leela Benare possesses a natural lust for life and a spontaneous joie de
vivre, as she states
We should laugh, we should play. We should sing, if we can and if
theyll let us, we should dance too. Shouldnt have any false modesty or
dignity. Or care for anyone! I mean it, when your lifes over, do you think
anyone will give you a bit of theirs?
She firmly believes in this principle and it is not just an ideology for her
but she puts it into practice also she says
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the opening door is problematic as while opening the door if the bolt
stays out just a little bit, the door gets shut and one is locked up inside the
hall and symbolically Benare is also locked up in this hall where her
personal life will be tried.
The members of the theatre group arrive Mr. & Mrs. Kashikar,
Sukhatme, Rokde, karnik, Ponkshe but one (minor character) subordinate
actor, Rawte is sick so he does not turn up and they decide to take a local
man for his role and Samant, the active boy of the village who is in the
charge of the hall is selected for the role. Since he has never seen a court,
they decide to perform the court seen totally imaginary so that Samant
gets acquinted with the procedure of the court. So they all agree for the
visual enactment of the imaginary case against someone. Sukhatme
proposes that Miss Benare will be the accused and all the members agree.
The trial on Miss Benare begins. Mr. Kashikar seats himself on the
judges chair and says
Prisoner Miss Benare, under section No 302 of the Indian Penal Code
you are accused of the crime of infanticide. Are you guilty or not guity of
the aforementioned crime?
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Miss Benare is very vocal, very open and frank in her attack on male
chauvinism and false concepts of masculinity. So to pay her back in the
same coin, the actors plan to expose and humiliate her through this trial.
She gets into the trap. Once the trial begins, there is no shelter for poor
Benare. She is labeled by all dirty adjectives. Her private life is exposed
and publicly dissected, revealing her illicit love affair with Prof. Damle, a
married man with a family, which has resulted in her pregnancy. Prof.
Damle is significantly absent at the trial, denoting his total withdrawal of
responsibility-either social or moral for the whole situation into which he
has landed Miss Benare. During the trial, he is summoned merely as a
witness while Benare remains the prime accused as the unwed mother of
his illegitimate child.
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So its unfair on Miss Benares part to take the life of the delicate bundle
of joy she has borne. Mr. Ponkshe is called as the first witness. He is
asked about the social status of Miss Benare and he gives ambiguous
answer that to the public eye, Miss Benare is unmarried but to the private
eye He is also asked about the moral conduct of Miss Benare and he
replies that she runs after men too much Mr. Rokde & Mr. Karnik are
called as second witnesses. They are asked whether they have seen Miss
Benare in a compromising situation .Rokde replies that once during the
time of night, when he went to Prof. Damles house, Miss Benare was
with Mr. Damle He was not allowed to come in the room. It is concluded
that Miss Benares behaviour is certainly suspicious. Even Samant is
called as a witness and he gives imaginary answers to the questions which
proves to be correct regarding the private life of Miss Benare. He says
that once during the night he has seen Miss Benare in Prof. Damles
house and she was crying and saying
If you abandon me in this condition where shall I go.
and Prof. Damle said
Where you should go is entirely your problem I feel great sympathy for
you But I can do nothing,. I must protect my reputation.
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With this clarification, which is totally imaginary, tears flow from Miss.
Benares eyes. She tries to run away from the dock and goes to the
doorway and she tries to unbolt it but it is locked from outside. She is
trapped symbolically.
Miss Benare is called and she is asked to take an oath but she remains
silent. They discuss about her age and unmarried state, the reasons for her
preference to remain single. Actually this discussion reflects the
contemporary burning issue-the trend to remain single among women;
May be a woman wants to maintain her individuality, does not desire to
follows others command or take up the responsibility. It remains a
curiosity for all the members that how an educated, well brought up,
earning girl like Miss Benare remains unmarried till at the age of thirty
four. Mrs. Kashikar satirically remarks thatThats what happens these days when you get everything without
marrying. They just want comfort.
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Miss Benare never likes to bind herself with the so called rules and
regulations established by the society. She, as an individual, behaves as
one human being greets another without bothering, about the limitations
of sexes. But this very free nature is criticised by the society, No one is
ready to accept Miss Benares new concept of life as Mrs. Kashikar says
Free! Free! shes free all right in everything! Should there be no limit
to how freely a woman can behave with a man? An unmarried woman?
No matter how well she knows him? Look how loudly she laughs! How
she sings, dances, cracks jokes! And wandering alone with how many
men, day in and day out!
To the orthodox society she should value the limitations of womans life.
Even the two witnesses Rokde and Ponkshe present totally negative
picture of Miss Benare. They try to present her as an immoral woman
Rokde, informs, Once while coming back from the performance, on the
way, during night Miss Benare held his hand but he didnot encourage her.
Ponkshe also gives witness about her immoral living, He was invited by
Miss Benare in the Udipi Restaurant. There she revealed that she was
pregnant, In order to give fathers name to her child she wanted to marry
Ponkshe. She wanted to bring up the child. Its only for the child she
wanted to go on living and get married. She did not criticise the culprit
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man. Everyone guesses that he must be Prof. Damle. Mr. Karnik also
admits that the accused had very bad past. The accused Miss Benare
attempted suicide because of disappointment in love with her own
maternal uncle, This revelation shocks everyone and they all exclaim
what an immoral relationship!
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the accused has committed a far more serious crime. I mean unmarried
motherhood. Motherhood without marriage has always been considered a
very great sin by our religion and our traditions, Moreover, if intention of
the accused bringing up the offspring of this unlawful maternity is carried
to completion I have a dreadful fear that the very existence of society will
be in danger. There will be no such thing as moral values left. Milord,
infanticide is a dreadful act. But bringing up the child of an illegal union
is certainly more horrifying. If it is encouraged, there will be no such
thing as the institution of marriage left. Immorality will flourish. Before
our eyes our beautiful dream of a society governed by tradition will
crumble into dust I make a powerful plea Na Miss Benare
Swatantryamarhati Miss Benare is not fit for independence with the
urgent plea that the court should show no mercy to the accused, but give
her the greatest and severest punishment for her terrible crime.
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Against all such charges Miss Benare tries to defend herself and it is
represented through her long soliloquy, which has become famous in the
history of contemporary Marathi theatre. It is important to note here that
Tendulkar leaves us in doubt as to whether or not Benare at all delivers
the soliloquy, thus suggesting that in all probability what she has to say
for herself is swallowed up by the silence imposed upon her by the
authorities. In fact, during the court proceedings on several occasions, her
objections and protestations are drowned by the judges cry of Silence!
and the banging of the gavel,. Benares monologue is reminiscent of
Noras declaration of Independence but lacks the note of protest that
characterizes the speech of Ibsens heroine. It is more a self justification
than an attack on societys hypocrisies. It is poignant and sensitive and
highlights, the vulnerability of women in our society.
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She says the very word life gives a pang of joy. To live is life. To sing,
to feel to experiment, to enjoy, to dance, to breathe, to travel, to know, to
explore all this is life. But when you do all this, the society labels you
as evil and gives a verdict that hangs you. This is the paradox of life
to live or not to live.
Life is like this life is so and so Life is such and such. Life is a book that
goes ripping into pieces. Life is a poisonous snake that bites itself. Life is
a drudgery. Life is a something thats nothing or a nothing thats
something.. Milord life is a dreadful thing. Life must be hanged. Life
is not worthy of life. Hold an inquiry against life. Sack it from its job.
And it signifies that she is disillusioned with life. Through her
experiences she has learnt that Only one thing in life is important that is
body. She reveals, that the beginning of her exploitation begins with her
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maternal uncle who had exploited her sexually in her teen age. She
confesses that it was a sin but she was helpless. In her strict house, only
her maternal uncle was close to her, who used to praise her bloom of
youth. She was only 14 and did not understand the ways of the world, In
his company she got the whole meaning of life and she insisted on
marriage. So that she could enjoy her beautiful dream openly. Her mother
too, failed to understand her and support her. The uncle turned tail and
ran. She attempted suicide by throwing herself off from the parapet of the
house but she did not die. Her body did not die nor did her emotions.
She started her life again, studied and finally settled into a teaching job.
As a teacher she comes in contact with Prof. Damle whom she considers
quite intelligent, and academically bright. Again she fell in love. This
love is intelligent It is not love but it is worship she says
It isnt love at all its worship! But it was the same mistake. I offered
up my body on the altar of my worship. And my intellectual god took the
offering and went his way. He didnt want my mind, or my devotion he
didnt care about them! He wasnt a god. He was a man for whom
everything was of the body, for the body! Thats all again, the body.
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It is little wonder that Benares monologue towards the end of the play is
directed against men in general , and professor Damle in particular. Here,
she becomes the playwrights mouthpiece.
She is in dilemma whether to hate or to love her body, But she overcomes
the dilemma and says where she will go if she rejects body. She should
not be ungrateful to her body. It has given her beautiful moments and
right now she is carrying within it the witness of that time A tender
little bud. She saysMy son my whole existence! I want my body now for him for him
alone. He must have a mother a father to call his own a house to
be looked after he must have a good name!
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Thus, the accusation brought against her at the beginning of the trial that
of infanticide- turns into the verdict at the conclusion. Principally because
the orthodox Indian society cannot accept the birth of a child born
without socially approved marriage.
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to be. How often we meet parents who teach their children to laugh
mildly. Everyone is scared of being wild. And wildness is part and parcel
of human nature. Socializing in this sense means living coyly and
submissively. Life becomes death. The society compels one to live less
and less. It forces one to live not life but death itself. This sort of life
gives birth to all sorts of anomalies. We see abnormal people all around
with so sweet faces but complex perverts mind as Miss Benare says
These are the mortal remains of some cultured men of twentieth century.
See their faces how ferocious they look. Their lips are full of lovely
worn out phrases! And their bellies are full of unsatisfied desires.
How true these comments are for contemporary men! Every man is a
wolf wrapped in the skin of a lamb. He wants his Pound of flesh For
him every woman is virtually her body bones, flesh, curves! A woman
is not identified with her intellect, her ability, her intelligence, her
courage, or knowledge. A woman, whosoever she may be, is just her
body. Even women themselves
themselves. They see their own selves as bodies. That is why they are
afraid and ashamed of old age, wrinkles and white hair. They view
themselves primarily as sex objects. This is what patriarchy, has done to
women poisoned their self perception beyond repair.
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When the group is considering names for the accused in the mock trial
they wish to conduct as practice before the real thing, she offers herself.
This is how the exchange goes
Ponkshe
: Good enough.
Sukhatme
Mrs. Kashikar : Fine if you so. And at least will get to see
how a trial against a woman is conducted (Turus to Mr.
Kashikar by habit). Isnt that right? Its good to see these
things.
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Mrs. Kashikar does not take such suppression of her mind and spirit
quietly. She mutters angrily. One suspects that, had she had the economic
power that Benare has, she might have protested more actively. However,
the way things are, there is no choice for her but to be a participant in the
patriarchal system. She chooses to be an enthusiastic one because, if she
is to retain a shread of self-esteem, the least she must do is to glorify her
own state. That is why her testimony against Benare is such a bitter
diatribe, but brazenly parading as sociological observation, when she is
asked why Miss Benare has remained single till such an advanced age,
her response is very melicious.
One cannot help feeling a twinge of compassion for this bitter woman
who will let down her own kind to establish herself on the right side of
man made social codes. Benare on the other hand, has our sympathy from
the moment she becomes prey to the groups bloodthirsty instincts despite
the fact that neither her sin nor reported behaviour makes her a
particularly sympathetic person, she is not a true rebel, for she is not
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This play exactly describes middle class mentality and its pettiness. The
theatre members are a bored, frustrated and repressed lot. The first one is
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the president of the drama group Mr. Kashikar & his wife Mrs. Kashikar.
They are childless. They just make a show of love and romance by caring
for each other and giving gifts to each other and that too in public. But
actually Mr. Kashikar is an orthodox husband who never allows his wife
to argue with him or to express her wish. Being childless, they have
adopted one boy named Balu. Miss Benare ruthlessly unravels their
pettiness and plainly tells that they have adopted a boy in order to lessen
the monotony of their lives. They have deprived that child of a separate
identity and maturity. She says- And that they shouldnt die of boredom! gave shelter to a young boy.
They educated him. Made him toil away. Made a slave out of him.
So they have adopted Balu Rokde, not out of generosity, but out of sheer
need, in order that nothing should happen to either of them in their bare,
bare house and that they shouldnt die of boredom!
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During the mock trial of Miss Benare, the witnesses try to show her as
immoral, but actually it represents their failure in establishing relations
with Miss Benare. They would like to wander freely with Miss Benare
and admire before her, her intelligence, sharpness, beauty as a woman.
All of them want to keep secret relations, secret enjoyment with her but
no one wants to be tied down with her in a way of marriage. For life
partner, they all need ideal woman. They also feel humiliated that she
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has rejected them as a companion and she has established relations with
Prof. Damle. All these hollow mentality becomes clearly evident in the
dock of the court. Balu Rokde, as a witness reveals that once he had seen
during night Miss Benare alone at Prof. Damles house and his sudden
visit astonished them. But Miss Benare reminds him the expression on
her face arisen as Prof. Damle snubbed Balu in front of her as he was
insulted before her. Balu, must have entertained secret love for her, but it
is not materialized due to his parents. And it becomes clear when he says
that while accosting Miss Benare at night, she held his hand and he gave
a slap to her. By revealing this he wants to prove himself as Pure man,
who is not interested in such woman. But Mr. Karnik, as a witness says
that the story is different. The accused Miss Benare, asked for marriage to
Rokde, but he was not ready and said
If I marry you when youre in this condition, the whole worldll sling,
mud at me. No one in my familys done a thing like that - Dont depend
on me.
And Miss Benare gave him a slap. Even Ponkshe reveals that he was
invited by Miss Benare in the Udipi restaurant where Miss Benare,
revealed that she was pregnant and she desired to marry Mr. Ponkshe, But
he rejected her. This very act of Mr. Ponkshe indicates that if he is really
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an ideal man he must not have accepted Miss Benares invitation to meet
her alone. If she had not revealed this he must have enjoyed a cup of
coffee with her. All these witnesses reveal the pettiness of human minds.
The commencement of the mock-trial, which constitutes a play-withinthe-play, offers Tendulkar ample scope to dissect and lay bare, the
dormant ills of discontent in the psyche of these urban hypocrites.
Though, they gang themselves up against a helpless Benare, for the time
being, they have nothing but spite for one another. Kashikar, the mock
judge, banging the gaval, spitefully silences his wife Silence must be
observed while the court is in session, cant shut up at home cant shut up
here! During the trial, Samant, an innocent villager, makes a passing
remark Miss Benare is really amazing. At this Ponkshe gives a
deliberate twist to innocent remark In many respects Sukhatme, the
counsel for the prosecution calls Ponkshe as his first witness in a tone
soaked in sarcasm My first witness is the world famous scientist, Mr.
Gopal Ponkshe.
They start dissecting Miss Benares private life, - they talk about her age,
the reasons for remaining single, her relations with Prof. Damle, her past
affair with her maternal uncle, her attempt of suicide, her free life, her
attempt to get married to give a name to her illigimate child etc. They feel
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pity on her and they criticize her as well. Their comments reveal that
society has created very tight, rigid, suffocating rules for a woman. A
woman must not be free. She must not laugh loudly. As Mrs. Kashikar
says :
Should there be no limit to how freely a woman can behave with a
woman? An unmarried woman? Look how loudly she laughs! How she
sings, dances, cracks jokes! And wandering alone with how many men,
day in and day out.
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They all try to show their power as an individual. Since they are failure as
an individual they feel jealous about Miss Benare who is economically
and academically very much successful and has got the reputation as a
teacher. No complaint about her teaching, or being late or absent on her
job. Her professional life is not stained with any blame of corruption or
mal-practice or un-fair means. Whereas her group-artists are unsuccessful
on professional front in one way or the other way. It is but natural that
they can derive pleasure by criticizing Miss Benares personal life which
according to them is very much contrary to social norms. Only on this
front they find themselves superior as compared to Miss Benare, as they
are leading their lives on this ground, according to social norms, they try
to establish themselves superior and try to remind Miss Benare that
though she is successful woman on professional level yet she can never
consider herself above over others as her personal life is stained with
immorality. They try to cut her down. But as Samik Bandyopadhyay in
the Introduction of Collected Plays in Translation rightly writes
It is part of Tendulkars dramatic strategy that Benares immediate
persecutors in the play are as powerless as she, and all their exertions to
cut Benare down to size are more their striving after power than a real
exercise of power. As a matter of fact, Tendulkar plays at considerable
length on the individual and powerlessness of each of her assailants, each
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However, Banare breaks her silence at last towards the close of the play
when she burst forth into long and brilliant monologue.
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The way the monologue is framed / presented in the play with the music
from some where in the background, the change of light and the whole
court freezing and the sharp stylistic break in tone, the spoken is really
a projection of the unspoken and naturally unheard by the other players.
At the same time, Tendulkar the astute craftsman that he is, draws on a
series of similar but shorter barely heard asides earlier in the play, so
typical of Benare, so vulnerable and yet so determined to play her game
through. The most moving of these comes in Act II, when Samant
notices
She seems to have fallen asleep, Miss Benare, I mean
And Benare replies
her eyes shut Im awake. I can never, never sleep just when I want
to. Never.
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Tendulkar makes use of certain dramatic symbols in the play. The door
bolt that hurts Benares finger at the very outset, physically locks her into
the hall where her tormentors persecute her. This incident in itself is an
externalization of the no escape plight in which she finds herself in real
life. There is also the green cloth, parrot and the sad lullaby Benare sings.
Both assume symbolic significance at the resolution of the play
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The lines are again significant in that Benare realizes, in the course of the
play, that she can have nothing that she can call her own.
More important than these two compositions in verse is the one which she
recites in the opening scene:
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It is from the above Marathi poem by Mrs. Shirish Pai that Tendulkar has
conceived Benare, the central character in Silence! In accordance with the
above aphoristic kind of verse, Benare feels that she is destined to be
defeated in the end.
Benare sings it to herself towards the end of Act I and repeats it again at
the end of Act III where it supposedly emerges from an indistinct source
in Benare's voice. The parrot in the play is suggestive of Samant and the
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Indeed, with the use of new dramatic devices, Tendulkar has made the
drama innovative.
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